Grading Warriors' Kuminga-for-Porzingis, TJD-for-Pick Trades 2 Months Later

It's been almost two months since the Golden State Warriors made two trades before the Feb. 5 deadline.

The headliner was dealing Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks for Kristaps Porzingis. The other was trading Trayce Jackson-Davis to the Toronto Raptors for a 2026 second-round pick.

Let's grade these trades now that we have two months of hindsight.

Kuminga-Porzingis Trade

I gave the Warriors a C- for this trade moments after it was conceived, and much of my reasoning for the low grade still stands.

My concern was not that Kuminga would blossom into a star in a new environment. My concern was that Kuminga had a great contract to facilitate a star trade, but the Warriors didn't have the stones to attach considerable first-round draft capital to acquire a player like Trey Murphy III, which is why they had to settle for the oft-injured/oft-ill Porzingis.

To his credit, Porzingis has outperformed Kuminga.

The 7'2" Latvian has appeared in four straight games, averaging 22.5 points in 28.5 minutes. He seems to want to be back with Golden State next year, and the Warriors have his Bird rights, which means they should have no issue re-signing him.

Kuminga has been dealing with the knee injury he suffered late in his Warriors tenure, and it's not clear how much it's affecting his performance. But all we have to go off are his 10 games with the Hawks, and in his last seven, he's averaging 7.7 points on 34.6 percent shooting.

At this moment, the Warriors are winning the trade.

But when Porzingis has another long-term absence next season—when, not if—Golden State's front office should be criticized for not using the Kuminga contract to get a more reliable player.

Still, I'd be remiss to not raise the grade a little bit. There's more hope about Porzingis' future than there was at the time of the trade, and he should fit well with Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, assuming the Dubs are ever fortunate enough to have all three on the floor at the same time. But I don't buy that anyone who has had his battles with illnesses can be relied on, even if the Warriors have a premier sports medicine staff.

Warriors' grade: C+

Jackson-Davis Trade

I didn't publish a grade for this trade in February, but I thought it was smart at the time, and it looks just as good now.

My view on Jackson-Davis is it's hard to have value in the NBA when you're an undersized center (6'9") who can't shoot. To his credit, he's a good passer and rebounder, and you can't question his motor.

If he were an incredible paint finisher, you could look past the lack of a perimeter shot and the poor free-throw shooting. But Jackson-Davis struggles to score when contested in the lane, which is understandable considering he's having to finish among players who are often two-plus inches taller than him.

I'd wager the market for his services was almost non-existent, so the fact that the Warriors got a second-round pick was good business.

That pick is currently projected to be 56th overall, so it's not exactly a crown jewel. But look at the success the Warriors have had picking in the 50s:

2025: Will Richard, No. 56
2024: Quinten Post, No. 52
2023: Jackson-Davis, No. 57
2022: Gui Santos, No. 55

The Warriors need cheap contributors with their bloated cap sheet for next season, which makes this pick extra valuable.

Meanwhile, Jackson-Davis is shooting just 44.4 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from the free-throw line since joining the Raptors.

I'm betting on Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the Golden State front office drafting a better player than Jackson-Davis with the pick they acquired for him.

Warriors' grade: A